CONWAY — The Bryant Black Sox and Conway Cougars Senior American Legion teams hit some lasers on Wednesday night at Bear Stadium on the campus of the University of Central Arkansas.
Unfortunately for the Sox, the Cougars hit a few more of them and rallied for three runs in the seventh and six more in the eighth to produce a 16-9 victory after Bryant led most of the game. The Conway team, which included players from Greenbrier, Vilonia, Mayflower, Bigelow and a couple that had played at Conway High School, cracked 20 hits including four each by Josh Walker and Chad Cox. Dylan McDearmon and Eli Davis had three apiece. Walker drove in four runs.
“You’ve got to give them credit, they swung the bat,” said Black Sox manager Darren Hurt. “They walked up there and they took hacks. They squared the ball up all night long. They put pressure on our defense from the first inning on. They swung it well.
“Early in the game, I thought our pitchers did a pretty good job and (Conway) kind of fisted a few on us and dinked some,” he noted. “But when we got to the middle innings then, all of a sudden, it was some shots.
“We had some guys that hadn’t had a whole lot of work (on the mound),” Hurt added. “Some of them were a little rusty from the time off.”
Bryant had 12 knocks including two each by Brandan Warner, Blake Patterson, Evan Lee and Connor Tatum. Jason Hastings drove in four runs. The Sox also waited out 10 walks. As it turned out, half of those walks came in the final three innings and none of the hits as Brent Sutherland and Cody Holmes held Bryant without a hit after Trey Breeding’s two-out triple in the top of the sixth.
“We didn’t make them pay,” Hurt noted. “We didn’t strike out so we were putting the ball in play. We squared up early but late we just couldn’t get the big hit.”
It was the first loss of the season for the Sox, who just returned from a showcase tournament in Georgia, where they won twice and tied twice.
“It’s the same old deal,” Hurt commented. “I can’t stand the first game after a long road trip. We’ve had these before. I can remember several years ago going to Pine Bluff and losing one about like this after a trip. But we were fine after that so I think we’ll be fine after this.”
The Sox are scheduled to travel to Fort Smith tonight if the Kerwins team can find a field to play the game on. So the date is pending. Bryant hosts El Dorado in a doubleheader on Friday.
Singles by Warner and Patterson followed by a sacrifice fly from Hastings gave Bryant a 1-0 lead in the top of the first off lefty Mitch Jones, a former Conway ace who pitched for the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith this spring.
In the home half, however, Walker singled, McDearmon doubled and Justin Sewell picked up an RBI with a groundout. McDearmon scored on a balk but, moments later, Cox cracked a double.
In the top of the second, the Black Sox picked up four runs to regain the advantage. Nick Kehrees worked a one-out walk then Tatum got a bunt down for a base hit. Both of Tatum’s hits in the game came on bunts and he also squeezed in a run with a third bunt. With Walker, the Conway third baseman in, Tatum swung away in the seventh and was robbed of a third hit on a nice running catch of a looping liner to left.
With two on in the second, Drew Tipton parachuted in a base hit in no-man’s land in shallow center. Warner then drew an RBI walk as did Patterson giving Bryant a 3-2 lead. Hastings then ripped a two-run double to right to increase the lead. But, with runners at second and third and just one out, the Sox were denied any addition to the margin.
In the bottom of the second, the Cougars scored twice to get back within 5-4. Walker had a two-out, two-run double.
Neither team scored in the third or fourth innings. For the Sox, Devin Dupree blanked the Cougars. In the third, however, Sewell and Cox had singled. Jake Byrum tried to bunt but popped it up. Patterson came charging in from first and caught the ball in the air then fired a throw to second to double off Sewell.
That proved big when Davis smacked a single to right. Dupree got Caleb Holleman to bounce out to second, keeping it 5-4.
The Sox lost a runner at the plate in the third then reliever Dave Beck set them down in order in the fourth. Dupree did the same to the Cougars in the home fourth.
Both teams scored twice in the fifth. For Bryant, Lee beat out an infield hit, took second on Trey Breeding’s sacrifice and, after Dylan Hurt walked, the duo executed a double steal. Lee would score on a wild pitch. After Dupree singled Hurt to third, Tatum squeezed him in to make it 7-4.
In the bottom of the inning, however, Cox and Davis each singled in a run to make it a one-run game again.
Once again, the Sox tacked on in the top of the sixth. Warner beat out an infield hit, swiped second and advanced to third on Patterson’s sharp single to right. Hastings then got the squeeze bunt down to get Warner home. Lee singled in Patterson.
On the late throw to the plate, Lee took off for second. He appeared to beat the return throw from Byrum but the call didn’t go the Sox’ way. That proved significant when Breeding followed with his triple.
Trailing 9-7, Conway whittled a run off the margin in the bottom of the sixth. Weaver was hit by a pitch, Walker singled and, after coming on in relief, Seth Tucker issued a walk to McDearmon.
But Tucker induced a grounder to Tatum at second. With Hurt coming over from shortstop to make the turn, the Sox got a doubleplay as a run scored. Tucker kept it at that, though, when he got Cox to pop out.
But Conway scored three runs to take the lead in the seventh. Byrum was hit by a pitch then Davis singled. Holleman followed with a drive to left but Lee made a game-saving catch sprinting toward the line.
Sutherland singled, however, and Weaver drove in a run with a sacrifice fly to make it 9-8. The Sox came within a strike of getting out of the inning at that point but, on a 1-2 delivery, Walker laced a two-run double to left to put his team ahead.
Patterson and Lee drew walks from Holmes in the eighth but the Sox were denied the scoring opportunity.
In the six-run eighth, the Sox came a strike away from escaping throughout the uprising. Cox opened with a double and advanced on a groundout. Moving on contact to try to score, Cox took off when Davis hit a two-hopper to Warner at third. A quick throw to Breeding at the plate, retired Cox and left the Cougars with a runner at first with two out.
The count went to 3-2 on Holleman but he singled to right-center. It was 3-2 on Holmes but he drew a walk, loading the bases for Weaver, who delivered a hump-back liner to right. Hastings sprinted in and nearly made a spectacular diving catch but the ball got dislodged.
Davis scored and when the throw to the plate got away, Holleman crossed the plate safely. An intentional walk set up a force at every base but McDearmon busted open the 12-9 gave with a shot to the fence in right-center for a three-run triple. He would then score on a wild pitch to make it 16-9.
Despite walks to Tatum and Tipton, Holmes closed out the victory. Holleman, the center fielder, made a nice running catch in right-center on a shot by Warner for the final out.
